Georges Brassens: The Man with the Famous Moustache
A Classic Arts Production for BBC Radio 4
Produced by Chris Marshall

Tx: BBC Radio 4, Thursday 14 October 2004, 11.30
(repeated: Tuesday 10 May and Saturday 14 May 2005)

The moustache is famous, the songs are famous, even the name is famous – but who was Georges Brassens? Artist, illustrator and Francophile Quentin Blake – loved by millions for his enchanting picture books such as `Mr Magnolia’, and for his illustrations of Roahl Dahl’s stories – explores the legacy of the legendary French chanteur.

For many Brits now in their 50s, Georges Brassens embodies France, the French, and everything that was exotic and foreign to them during their formative years - the essence of their first holidays abroad, their school exchanges, their au pair experiences. The wit of his lyrics, the insouciant melodies, the simplicity of his guitar playing all evoke that world of Gauloises, vin de table, check tablecloths – the spirit of 1960s Paris. But this was a man who supported anarchism, was banned by French radio for his subversive lyrics – and yet was awarded a Poetry prize by the Academie Francaise.

Quentin Blake has produced a book illustrating some of Brassens’ song lyrics, including his best-known poem `Le parapluie’. In this programme, he talks to several well-known Brassens fans, including the writer Julian Barnes, poet Michael Rosen, actor Tim Pigott-Smith and cartoonist Posy Simmonds.

We also hear from Brassens’ biographer, Jacques Vassal, who fills in the story of Brassens’ life, ending at his grave in the Sete cemetery; and Jean-Daniel Beauvallet, the editor of the French rock magazine `Le inrockuptibles’, who discusses Brassens’ enduring influence on a younger generation of French singer/songwriters. We also hear excerpts from some of Brassens’ most famous songs, including `Le gorille’, `Marquise’, `Chanson pour l’Auvergnat’ and `Le parapluie’.

Brassens: A brief life
Born in 1921 in the southern French seaside port of Sete, Brassens was drawn to Paris in the early years of the war, part of which he spent in a German POW camp. He was determined to be a poet, and published his first poetry collections in 1942. Most of his chansons use his own lyrics, but he also set words by some of the greatest French poets, from Francois Villon to Victor Hugo and Paul Fort. After the war he began to write for an anarchist review, `Le libertaire’, and some of his early chansons were banned for many years (including `Le gorille’, which opposed the death penalty). In 1947 he met the love of his life, the Estonian Joha Heiman, although the couple never married or lived together. One of his songs is called `La non-demande en mariage’ (The Un-Proposal of Marriage). He began to play the Parisian cabarets and music halls in the 1950s, and teamed up with the bassist Pierre Nicolas. Soon he was recording and touring extensively – in 1954 his album `Le parapluie’ won a Grand Prix du Disque. From 1959 he began to suffer serious health problems, but continued to play the music halls including Bobino and Olympia in Paris. He made his final international tour in 1973, and issued his last album three years later. He died of cancer near Sete just short of his 60 th birthday. His poems are now studied in French schools, and his chansons covered by international artists. Jake Thackray – who was much influenced by Brassens’ witty lyrics - issued a famous version of `The Gorilla’.

Music playlist:
Brassens Le gorille
PHILIPS 586 344-2 T3 01:37
(Warner Chappell Music France)

Brassens/Thackray Brother Gorilla
EMI 796271-2 T8 01:23
(NWR Music Publishers Co Ltd)

Brassens Supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sète
PHILIPS 586 352-2 T1 03:11
(Universal Music Publishing France)

Brassens Marquise
PHILIPS 586 350-2 T10 01:57
(Universal Music Publishing France)

Brassens Chanson pour l’Auvergnat
PHILIPS 586 346-2 T1 02:07
(Warner Chappell Music France)

Brassens Une jolie fleur
PHILIPS 586 346-2 T4 04:07
(Warner Chappell Music France)

Brassens Le parapluie
PHILIPS 586 344-2 T8 01:51
(Warner Chappell Music France)